episode_0096

Fortunately, Grace’s misunderstanding was quickly resolved.

It wasn’t that he had spent the night out with Celin, but that he had come back after fainting for 12 hours following an intense duel at the Aurora Magic Tower. And that he met Elena on the way back while urgently returning and received help, etc.

Acel conveyed all the information as quickly as possible before Grace went crazy. Grace sniffled tears and nodded her head.

“I understand the situation.”

Acel’s room. Sitting on the sofa with her back to the wide-open window, Grace pressed down on her fluttering hair with her hands. Acel fixed her hair with magic himself, wearing a wry smile.

“I’m sorry. I came as fast as I could, but it seems I was late.”

“Uh-huh. It’s okay. We didn’t even set a specific time in the first place, did we? Thinking about it, I was foolish. I should have at least set a time to meet.”

“We both knew we’d see each other in the morning, didn’t we? Don’t blame yourself.”

“Yes. Thank you, Acel.”

Grace covered Acel’s hand, which had gently wrapped her hair, with one of her hands and brought it to her cheek. Then she lightly leaned her face against his hand.

“But Acel.”

“Yes?”

Grace rubbed her cheek against Acel’s hand and said.

“Whose is the lipstick mark on your ear?”

“Uh…”

“Sniff sniff. The smell on your hand is… similar to the perfume Elena usually wears. So, did you get a kiss on your ear during the process of flying here with Elena’s help?”

“…Something like that?”

Instead of making flimsy excuses, Acel readily admitted it. There was nothing to make excuses for in the first place. There was also the possibility that the situation could worsen if he tried to lie awkwardly.

“Really?”

Squeeze.

Hearing Acel’s words, Grace added strength to the grip with which she held Acel’s hand.

“I don’t like it.”

“……”

“Let me leave a mark too.”

“……A mark?”

“I won’t do anything arbitrarily without permission. So… will you allow it?”

Instead of answering immediately, Acel pondered for a moment before nodding with a hesitant expression.

“As long as it’s not too deep…”

“Thank you.”

Grace smiled and held Acel’s left hand with both hands.

“It won’t be that deep…”

And she brought that hand to her mouth. While Acel was saying, “Uh-oh.” The ring finger of his left hand slipped into Grace’s mouth. At the same time, a slippery tongue wrapped around the finger like a snake.

“Heup.”

“Ugh?!”

A constricting force, hard to believe it was a tongue, fixed Acel’s finger. It wouldn’t be difficult to forcibly pull it out using magic, but then Grace’s oral cavity would be literally ruined. Her teeth, as well as her respiratory organs, would be torn and crushed.

However, escaping from her embrace with his weak physical abilities without using magic was impossible. Still, Acel at least pulled his finger back and blurted out in a flustered voice.

“Hey, hey. This is too sudden… Ugh!”

The moment he opened his mouth. Grace rushed towards Acel, pushed him onto the sofa, and straddled his waist. Then, she leaned her upper body forward, pressed her chest against his, brought their faces close enough to feel each other’s breath, and sucked on the finger in her mouth with a “Jjok”.

“Jjyub… Heu… Uuub…”

The ring finger went in so deep it was completely out of sight. The slippery sensation of the wrapped tongue and her hot breath were fully transmitted through his skin. It felt as if his entire ring finger was being massaged by the pressure of her tongue constricting it strongly, as if she had wrapped mana around her tongue.

A strange, eerie feeling crawled up from deep within his chest.

At that moment, Grace released the tongue that was wrapped around Acel’s finger, pushed the tip as if poking between his fingernails, and opened her mouth.

“Beeh…”

Thick saliva was thickly stuck on the liberated finger. A cool sensation caused by the blowing wind tapped at his brain, and the silver thread-like line connecting Grace’s lips and Acel’s fingertip stretched out and then snapped.

“Heo…”

Acel let out a hollow laugh and looked down at Grace who was wiping her lips. She smiled softly and pointed with her finger at the round pink lipstick mark imprinted on the tip of Acel’s ring finger.

“Don’t erase this today and keep it with you.”

“……”

“And make an ‘tooth-shaped’ ring mark on my left ring finger too.”

“…Are you serious?”

Acel asked with a face that seemed to wonder, ‘Is this right?’. Grace nodded without hesitation.

“Acel, my attitude towards you has been sincere from beginning to end.”

“…No, but it will hurt if I bite hard enough to leave a mark.”

“The pain you give me is a reward.”

“…I don’t know what to say. The situation is too strange.”

“You don’t need to think of it as strange.”

Grace brought her ring finger to Acel’s lips.

“Just think of it as marking.”

“……”

“That’s the punishment for leaving me and kissing Elena.”

“…It wasn’t exactly a kiss, though.”

“Anyway!”

Grace wriggled and moved up a little higher. A distance where their faces were clearly visible. At a distance where their lips would touch if either of them moved their head even slightly, she whispered.

“Or… you can do it on my lips. Or my nape, or above, or my upper chest…”

“I’ll do it on the finger.”

“…Pii.”

Grace clearly showed she was disappointed. But Acel, looking at her finger, opened his mouth while wearing an expression of doubt, wondering if this was really okay. Then, finally, as if resigned, he let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth.

“With this, there’s nothing for us to be sorry about with each other.”

“Of course.”

Yes, that was enough.

Acel placed her finger between his teeth and bit down with a fair amount of force.

“Ah-heut!”

Then Grace let out a moan mixed with pleasure. Not only that, but her waist trembled whenever Acel’s teeth tightened more and more. Acel was horrified by that blatant reaction and immediately released her finger.

“Heek… Heek…”

Grace panted roughly and checked the clear tooth mark etched on her left ring finger, wearing a satisfied smile.

And Acel grabbed Grace’s trembling waist tightly with both hands and frowned.

‘Why is she trembling so much…’

Could it be that she has a masochistic tendency that enjoys pain? If not, it can’t be explained.

‘Her clothes didn’t get wet, did they?’

He let out a deep sigh and waited until Grace calmed down.

***

Before long, Grace returned to her cheerful self, as if she had never been aroused. However, she did return to her dormitory in the middle to change her underwear. Acel didn’t feel the need to ask why.

The time they left the dormitory was around 9 a.m.

The two headed not to the bustling academy downtown area packed with people, but to a small shelter village located to the north.

This place was still part of the academy grounds, but there weren’t many commercial or entertainment buildings, so it wasn’t overflowing with people even on a weekend. Just a moderate crowd was walking the streets.

It was literally a shelter village. The buildings weren’t very tall, and there was a lake and a park. A large rest area lined with small restaurants and cafes. Acel walked side-by-side with Grace under the street trees, inhaling the scent of dark tree blossoms.

The time was early April. The flowers symbolizing spring had not yet fallen, and sweet floral scents wafted from the park and flower gardens. Acel smiled faintly and savored the flower scent.

“When spring comes, outsiders visit quite often, using it as a tourist spot.”

Grace said from beside Acel.

“Of course, only verified nobles can enter. And that’s by paying a large sum of money.”

“Is there a need to enter to that extent?”

“Well. Maybe they want to assert their authority in their own way? Like boasting, ‘I am a noble who is allowed to enter the Academy Shelter Village!’”

“Nobles, I tell you.”

“I’m a noble too, you know.”

Grace giggled and hugged Acel’s arm.

Acel didn’t push her away.

“You’re a bit… too shy to be called a noble, aren’t you?”

“I’m only like this in front of you. You should see how nobly I act in front of others.”

“Then show me once.”

Acel chuckled and said.

“As someone from the lower class of the slums, I’ll evaluate it for you.”

“…I feel like whatever I say here will turn into garbage.”

Even as Grace replied that way, she cleared her throat with a “hm hm” and then spoke towards Acel as if speaking to someone else.

“Usually, it’s like this.”

The image of a bright and cheerful girl she had shown until now was completely gone; a cynical woman with a blank and cold expression had donned Grace’s skin. She looked up at Acel with lifeless eyes, wearing a cold smile.

“To me, the world is black and white. Color returns only when I’m with you.”

“……”

“When we talk, when I see your face, when I smell your scent. Every time, a color is added to my world. That’s how a painting that was only an undercoat becomes beautiful. Solely because of your existence. So…”

Grace, trailing off at the end of her sentence, had already returned to her usual self and leaned her head on Acel’s shoulder.

“Please don’t make me do things like this. I always want to be pretty and cute in front of you.”

“A few hours ago when you were talking about suicide and stuff, you weren’t very pretty, though.”

Acel blurted out jokingly. Grace’s cheeks flushed crimson as she grumbled.

“Th-that, that’s unavoidable. Me, I have strong possessiveness and obsession, so just seeing you with another woman makes me feel like I’m going to vomit.”

“……..”

“Could I… watch you end up with another woman with my own eyes? Absolutely not. I’d rather die than that.”

“Your love is deep.”

Acel let out a deep sigh and muttered. At his reaction, Grace countered passively.

“It’s your fault.”

“Huh?”

“You, you made me a person who can’t live without you. Then you have to take responsibility!”

“…Strictly speaking, I before the regression wasn’t me.”

“It’s a difference in perspective. I don’t think that way.”

Grace looked up at Acel and said with a serious expression.

“I am me, and you are you. That doesn’t change just because you regressed. There’s only a difference in memories; the soul is the same.”

“……”

“To put it simply, it’s like starting over with a husband who has amnesia? At least, that’s how I see it. And… I love the current you just as much as the pre-regression you. Acel as a mage, it’s cool because it’s intellectual.”

Saying that, Grace smiled shyly.

A heartfelt love confession. Acel wore a wry smile and stroked her hair. Grace rubbed her head against his touch like a puppy, wearing a happy smile. And then, before Acel could open his mouth, she spoke first.

“You don’t have to answer my feelings right away. Someday, when you truly come to love me. When I realize that. That’s when I’ll approach you first. And I’ll ask.”

“……”

“Do you love me, I’ll say.”

Romantic, isn’t it?

Grace added that and kissed the round lipstick mark remaining on Acel’s left ring finger, like a ring.

“Hoping that a real ring will be here someday.”

“……”

“I love you. Sincerely.”

“…Grace.”

“And one more thing!”

Grace smiled brightly, slipped out of Acel’s embrace, and took a few steps forward.

Twirl.

She turned her body and looked at Acel.

“I will work until you call me Glen!”

“……”

“Be prepared! Once I set my mind on something, I absolutely achieve it, you know? Today is the first step of that plan!”

“…Haha.”

Acel let out a faint laugh.

Grace squeezed his hand tightly and shouted energetically.

“Let’s go! For our first memory!”

“Okay.”

Acel held Grace’s hand back.

“Let’s go.”